Newcomers and old-timers alike, from India.Arie to Patti LaBelle, will gather for special performances at next week's Grammy Awards ceremony.
Arie, R&B singers Brian McKnight and Al Green, and gospel star Hezekiah Walker will perform what the Recording Academy called Thursday (February 21) an "inspirational segment" at the 44th annual awards show February 27 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
LaBelle, a two-time Grammy winner, will join Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim, Mya and Missy Elliott on "Lady Marmalade," a song she took to the top of the charts in 1975 and the pop stars remade with massive success for last year's "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack.
Also added to the premier music awards show is a duet between Billy Joel and Tony Bennett on "New York State of Mind," a classic song that took on new meaning after Joel performed it at the September 11 telethon "America: A Tribute to Heroes." Joel and Bennett, who have won 14 Grammys between them, are nominated this year for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for their version of the song on Bennett's album Playin' With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues.
Previously announced performers include U2, 'NSYNC with Nelly, Outkast, Alicia Keys, Alejandro Sanz with Destiny's Child, Dave Matthews Band, Train, Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson and a tribute to the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack (see ).
Don Henley and Trisha Yearwood, together nominated for the Best Country Collaboration with Vocals Grammy for "Inside Out," have been added to a list of presenters that includes Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Ja Rule, Kid Rock and others, according to the Recording Academy.
Arie is second only to U2 for most nominations with seven. The neo-soul singer is the only artist competing in all four of the top categories: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year (the latter two for "Video").
McKnight will compete in five categories, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life" and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "My Kind of Girl" with Justin Timberlake.
Green will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Walker is nominated for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album for Love Is Live!
Joel, a former Grammy Legend Award winner, will accept the 2002 MusiCares Person of the Year award from the Recording Academy at a Los Angeles dinner two nights before the Grammys. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas and Nelly Furtado will perform in honor of Joel's accomplishments as a musician and humanitarian.
Comedian Jon Stewart will host the Grammys, which will be broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m.
For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.
